FOUR DAYS OF UNITY - Leslie Ayres


My name is Leslie Ayres and, like you, I know the magic of dancing all night, and the frustration of slowly losing my freedom to do that..

Being here in the shadows of the Democratic Convention is an incredible opportunity for the members of the dance community to get the word out that enough is enough. We must step forward now -- out of the night and out of the underground -- to make it very clear that our music, our culture, and our community is who we are, and we will not allow it to be misrepresented, to be lied about, or to be sacrificed as an innocent casualty in a misdirected war on personal freedom.

I started going to clubs and raves eight years ago, when San Francisco was buzzing with thriving nightclubs, and small underground events happened almost every night. The music, the self-expression, the joy and freedom of dancing all night long, changed my life forever. The power and magic of transformation that is available to us through music, dance and community is extraordinary. We who dance all night know that magic, and it is time for us to step forward and speak out to preserve this life for ourselves, and for the all who come after us.

We must band together, letting go of self-imposed factions like clubbers vs. ravers, underground vs. massives, trance vs. house … we must unify ourselves as a dance nation, sharing and communicating and speaking out to save our culture. And we must be proud and deal with the police and the authorities directly so that they understand exactly who we are and how strong our commitment to the dance community is.

Things have slipped a long way, though, so there's a lot to do. One Wednesday a year ago, I went to San Francisco's leading nightclub to dance for a couple of hours, as I'd done a hundred times before. But this time was different. To enter, I was heavily searched and then, once inside, I was constantly patrolled on the dance floor by security. Like a lobster put into a cold pot of water and then slowly heated, I realized that things had very slowly been pressurizing, until I was now being more closely monitored to be in a nightclub than if I'd been a prisoner exercising in the yard at San Quentin. I found out the police permit department was pressuring the club. Too late, I saw that wonderful clubs had been lost to police and permitting pressure, but the dance community hadn't fought to save those venues. And I realized that slowly club patrons had begun to be treated as if we were criminals, and sadly we were getting used to it!

That's when I decided that enough is enough, and it was up to me to take action… just like it is up to you. I wrote a letter to the police and the club management, protesting that long-time paying customers who simply come to dance are being treated with disrespect, as if going to a nightclub carried the assumption that you were a drug user or dealer somehow. Both the captain and the club manager called me back, and that was my first lesson that one person can make a difference.

I then got involved in the San Francisco Late Night Coalition, and I am astounded at the major changes that a focused and passionate group can bring about -- in great part because when you speak up, you put a real face on the issue. I'm constantly reminded that many in government, the police, and the media really have no idea whatsoever about who we really are. When they find out that I'm a 46-year-old consultant and mother of a 22-year-old daughter, they are shocked. When they realize that many in our community own successful businesses, have powerful jobs and great wealth, they are surprised. When they realize that the real dance community bears no resemblance to the 15-year-old children they see on 20/20 and 60 Minutes, they are confronted with their misperceptions.

Whoever you are, whatever your passion, if you care about the survival of the dance community, it is time for you to step forward and take action. You must come out of the underground, you must take responsibility for yourself and your actions, you must commit yourself to making a difference. Spread the word. Write letters of protest when television shows show sensational lies about us. Go to hearings at city hall about issues and legislation that affect dance culture, and use your opportunity to voice your opinion as a member of the public. Tell your government representatives that you expect them to represent the dance community's concerns. Donate your money or your time to groups like the San Francisco Late Night Coalition, or DanceSafe, or Right to Dance. Start a group in your own city, or join one that's already formed.

Step forward now, come out of the night, and out of the underground and protect your right to dance all night. If we speak clearly, loudly and in a unified voice, then we will be heard, and we will make a difference. Because enough is enough, and dancing is not a crime!


SFLNC RALLY - Leslie Ayres


Good afternoon. My name is Leslie Ayres. And like you -- I love to dance all night!

What an extraordinary group of people we are, people who share a passion and self-expression that we find through music and dancing. Look around you and see our diversity. We are young, and we are old, we are your secretary, your lawyer, your doctor, the waiter who brings your dinner and the mechanic who services your car. We are college students, and we are corporate executives and dotcom millionaires. We are the creators of the technology that is changing our world, and we are the artists and musicians who inspire and move you. We are everywhere and we are a powerful and inspired dance nation!

We thank you for coming down here today to show the world who we are and that we will NOT stand by and watch our late-night venues be systematically whittled away. We will not stand by and allow the members of the late-night community to be harassed and harangued by those who think they have a right to decide what we do with our personal leisure hours.

Lately there have been completely misinformed and sensationalistic media stories that choose to focus on the small percentage of problems within our scene and the inaccuracies and slander in these reports should horrify each and every one of us.

Like every area of our society, we have some problems in the dance community. And none of us wants to see our young friends and family go down a road they may never return from. And we are working to solve these problems. But the solution to helping our young people is not to suffocate an entire subculture, particularly one as powerful and inspired, as forward-thinking and self-expressed as the one we are creating.

I've been a member of the dance community for eight years, and I am NOT ad rug dealer, I am NOT an irresponsible drug user, I am NOT a problem-maker and I am NOT a criminal! In fact, I am a 46-year-old professional business consultant with a 22-year old daughter and a commitment to shining a light on the possibility of magic and transformation that is available to us through music, dancing and community.

And I know that you, the family and friends who make up one of the most inspirational, loving, accepting and free communities across the globe, are none of these things that the media would portray us as either.

Because we are the dance nation! We are one with the music, when we go out at night, we go out to DANCE! 20-20, Dateline, 60-Minutes -- if you REALLY want to know what we're doing out at night. COME DANCE WITH US!

Because it is all about the music, it is all about dancing, it is all about being together in community to move and groove together with freedom and acceptance.

And yet here in one of the greatest cities on the globe in a city that has been known throughout its history for its progressive and cutting-edge nightlife. We are being treated as if we were criminals because we choose to go out and dance.

When I visit a club I've patronized for eight years, I am patted down and my pockets emptied like a criminal. My offense? I dance all night!

When I'm in a nightclub dancing to some of the most famous and progressive electronic music artists and djs in the world, I am patrolled by security as if I were a prisoner exercising in the yard at San Quentin. My crime? I dance all night!

Five years ago, there were many clubs and venues where we could dance all night. And one by one, most have had their permits revised, revoked, or just made impossible to renew. We have been under attack through the subtleties of the archaic permit process and the bureaucratic red tape that authorities use to pressure clubs to close. We have been victimized by permits processes that say it's OK to play cds, but not to play vinyl records on turntables. We are being held hostage by a city that is allowing the police department to review and approve what kind of music will be played in a venue or they won't issue a permit.

And now we've just had a world-renowned club be required to place video cameras in every square inch that will tape every move of the paying customers who are there to dance; and even worse, they've been pressured to agree to instituting random search and seizures of their guests.

Are you horrified yet?

Enough is enough. It is time for our the dance nation to stand up and be counted. It is time to let everyone know that we will not tolerate being treated this way, being misrepresented, being singled out as if we are responsible for society's problems, being punished and harassed because we groove to electronic music and we dance all night.

I know many of you live in the underground music scene, but it's time to come into the light for a bit and be counted and be heard.

I invite each and every one of you to make your presence in this city known, whether you live, work or play here. Send letters to your supervisors, to city hall, to the mayor and the police captains and chiefs. Make time to attend each and every city hearing that regards decisions on late-night issues, take advantage of your constitutional rights to speak up and have your voice heard. If you are not already a member of the San Francisco Late Night Coalition, visit our website, read about the work we're doing with the city, with the police, with the neighborhoods, and join our mailing list.

It is our silence that has allowed this threat to our community to gain so much ground and it is in our raised voices and proud actions that we will turn the tides. Be proud to be a member of the dance nation as we dance together side by side, into a future of self-expression, acceptance and freedom!